Talk:Episode 201/@comment-25150955-20190807115553
Jon Armstrong: What a great act. The usage of the tiny plunger is ingenious, it feels like such an obvious prop to use, yet it was used so uniquely here, and I genuinely loved it. Some great tricks and a sense of humor here, too. Strong start. Xavier Mortimer: I loveeeeee this routine so much, it’s great to see this sort of theatrical magic be done by someone who’s funny, skilled, and creative. Just a really fun, unique trick, and it used the mirror and newspaper props really well. One of my favorites of the night. The Shocker: He’s a funny dude, but I wasn’t crazy on the trick. He’s definitely solid and memorable for sure, but I would’ve liked to see something more complex. Leon & Romy: God damn, that was a surprise. What a cool idea for an illusion. Entertaining, pretty unique for what it’s worth, and I LOVE that it fooled Penn and Teller because they just weren’t paying attention. Great job, but there IS someone else later down the line that does a similar trick in a better fashion, imo. Mike Hammer: One of my favorites of the night, honestly. He was hilarious, probably the funniest of the night, and while I’ve seen this trick done before and in bigger fashion (see Justin Willman), he was so damn funny that I didn’t even mind. Shin Lim: Do I have to say anything, really? Of course this was phenomenal, easily the best of the night in terms of magic and presentation. I’ve wanted this dude to sit on me YEARS before AGT, and this is why. Peter Boie: I’ve been fairly positive tonight, so let’s change that! This trick was lame as fuck! Its been done before by better illusionists with better presentation (i.e., Marc Spelmann), meanwhile you have a dude who looks like he snoops on his neighbor’s kids waving at an audience member like one of those inflatable tube things at car sales. It was dumb, wasn’t very entertaining, and my least favorite of the night. Brian Brushwood: This one was kinda cool. He’s a funny guy, but we’ve seen a lot of funny guys tonight. What makes this dude cool was his trick was metal as FUCK. It was totally wild, I really got a kick out of it. I don’t think it’ll advance but I did enjoy watching someone get entirely cut in half. Noel Qualter: “Underwhelming” is about what I’d refer to this dude as. He probably had, like, two jokes land the entire time, and the way he pulled off the trick felt awkward and forced, it didn’t feel like a cool reveal. Not great, but I do respect his style. Simon Pierro: Digital magic is really hard to make fun, and I will say this guy is one of the better magicians in terms of iPad magic. Just not very entertaining or invigorating. He just kinda made beer appear from an iPad.... and yeah, not much showmanship involved. You gotta make this stuff entertaining for it to really work, and he just... didn’t? Steven Brundage: He’s obviously amazing at what he does, and he absolutely deserves to be here and place high, but he’s not in my personal Top 3, really. Why? Well, the easy answer is that entertainment is a huge factor, and that while Brundage had an amazing trick, his lacking showmanship made him less memorable and fun than some others this episode. Still, excellent trick. Great job.